After allegations last spring that several schools in Birmingham, England had been infiltrated by a group of people “with a restricted and narrow interpretation of their faith” trying to achieve an “Islamisation” of secular state schools (Operation Trojan Horse), Education Secretary Michael Grove announced that schools throughout the country would have to promote “British values of tolerance.”

The MonkeyParking smartphone app, which, in the words of a recent Los Angeles Times editorial, “allows drivers in parked cars to let others know when they are leaving parking spots — and to turn the space over to the next driver for a fee,&...

A young Italian nun with a powerful singing voice and engaging stage presence has been capturing the attention of millions of television viewers on "The Voice of Italy." Her performance of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" knocked another female contestant...

A recent poll conducted Pew Research Center revealed that many people worldwide, particularly those who live in poorer countries, are of the opinion that one must believe in God to be a moral person.
According to the Pew report that was issued in late...

Mobile apps that address religious questions and ethical needs have been available for download in recent years. This spring, an Australian organization, the Ethicos Group, says it is developing a smartphone app to help Australian politicians and public...

The old Orchard Supply Hardware in Burbank sits half a mile from my former home on Reese Place. Despite its convenient location, it never failed to have more than half of what I needed for any project, forcing me to trudge another couple miles to the Home Depot down the road.
And now with the opening of Hobby Lobby in that same space on — with high irony — July 4, the Media City trudges unwillingly into another highly charged case involving sex, gender and freedom.
The same U.S. Supreme...

A section of a recent Pew Center Research poll on political polarization and family life asked Americans how they would react if a member of their immediate family told them they were going to marry one of the following: an atheist, a gun owner, someone who had not attended college, someone of a different race, a born-again Christian, a Republican, a Democrat or someone born and raised outside the U.S.
Of those choices, 49% said they would be most upset if a family member announced they planned to wed...

Pope Francis this month visited Seoul, South Korea, where he beatified 124 Korean martyrs, Catholics who were killed in the 18th and 19th centuries for standing up for their religion when the Joseon Dynasty was bent on bringing a halt to Western influence on the Korean Peninsula. “They challenge us to think about what, if anything, we ourselves would be willing to die for,” the pope said.
Q: In what ways do you or others who share your beliefs make sacrifices or stand up for them?
Jesus...

Reforming America's immigration laws to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship has long been seen as a cause championed by liberals.
But now a group that's not exactly known for liberal ideas has joined the call to relax immigration laws: the Southern Baptist Convention. The convention is joining with other evangelical groups to spend $250,000 on a media campaign to support a bill that would allow America's 11 million unauthorized immigrants to apply for citizenship. The bill also...

BURBANK — For a number of years prior to 2010, the Arcadia High boys' volleyball team was a nemesis for the Crescenta Valley squad.
For the past three years, however, Burroughs has replaced Arcadia as the Falcons' top adversary in the Pacific League.
The Indians, who have won or shared each of the past three league titles, have been a tough match for the Falcons, just like the Apaches were for more than a decade when Arcadia captured one championship after another.
Burroughs was too much for...

Sociologist Max Weber first advanced the idea of a Protestant work ethic in 1914. A recent study suggests that not only does this ethic exist, it can make the effects of unemployment worse for Protestants than for non-Protestants.
The Dutch survey, which used data from 150,000 people in 82 countries traditionally identified as Protestant — including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Germany and others — found that while unemployment has a negative effect on everyone, it affects Protestants more,...

It's not often that a Christian minister agrees with the New Atheist movement, but the Rev. Michael Dowd believes it's possible when it comes to what he calls the "idolatry of the written word."
A self-described "New Theist" — one who "value[s] scientific, historic and cross-cultural evidence over ancient texts, religious dogma or ecclesiastical authority" — Dowd believes that Scripture is outdated and fossilized and needs to grow and change with modern times, calling some injunctions...